Log carriage



March 31, 1931. c, w, w 1,798,770

LOG CARRIAGE b Filed April 9, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l M I FY March 31,1931. c w, W|LLETTE I 1,798,770

LOG CARRIAGE Filed April 9, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z6 7 7 a /i 7 2'5 Z 23M J Patented Mar. 31, 1931 CHARLES w. wiLLnrcrn, or roe-Tram), on ieonLOG CARRIAGE Application filed April 9,

Heretofore it has been the general custom in saw mills to fabricate thecarriage of structural members, generally made of wood. and tofrabricate and make the carriage at the mill, it being common practiceto periodically close the mill down and to repair or rebuild or renewthe carriage partially or in its entirety, during such shut down. T hisis not only an expensive operation in money, but also consumes asubstantial amount of time.

In my new and improved carriage it is intended to fabricate the same ata central location and to place the same in position in a mill and'bythe use of a few simple fastenings make, the same in readiness for use.

Also it has been the general custom to periodically stop the carriageand clean off from the carriageway or trackway the saw mill residue, assaw dust, chips, bark, slab elements and other foreign matter thatbecomes deposited upon the traclrway during the sawing operation.

The primary purpose and object of my invention resides in a structuralmetal carriage adapted for manufacture at a centralized pi ant and forerection at the mill and one that could be operated over relatively longoperating periods with a minimum of alteration and repair.

A further object of my invention resides in providing a plurality oftracks in spaced relationship upon which the carriage may be made tooperate and that remain in alignment and in providing means within thecarriage structure for maintaining the trackway in a ltllul lit-ly cleanoperating condition. And still further objects of my invention reside inthe fabricated structural metal frame, having a minimum of weight andyet made rigid in construction and that maybe easily and quicklyassembled when placedin position upon the track in a mill.

A still further object of my new and improved carriage resides in aconstruction and bearing support that would permit of a carriageoperation at relatively high speeds with a minimum of operatingfrictional losses.

A further object of my new and improved carriage, consists in providinga plurality of supporting wheels and journal bearings 1928. Serial No.268,727.

therefor, that are made integral with the frame, thus maintaining thefrictionless or roller bearings within the journals in precisealignment. r

A. further object of my new and improved carriage consists in providingan overhang for the set works that is also made integral with the frameelements.

lVith these and incidental objects in View, the invention consists incertain novel fca tin-cs of construction and combination of parts, theessential elements of which are set forth in the appended claims, and apreferred form of embodiment of which is hereinafter shown withreference to the drawings which accompany and form a part of thisspeciii cation.

In the drawings a Fig. 1 1s a fragmentary, top, plan View, of

the carriage illustrating the same with the deck removed.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the mechanism, illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end View, taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking in thedirection indicated.

Fig. i is a sectionaLend view, taken on line l-4 of Fig. 1, looking inthe direction indicated.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, sectional, side elevation, taken on line 55 ofFig. l, looking in the direction;indicated.

F ig. 6 is a cross section View, of the journal bearing in preferredembodiment.

Like reference characters refer to like a parts throughoutthe seve. 'alviews.

I: am aware that heretofore bearings have been made to coact with thetruck axles on log carriages, where the same were babhiitci'l orjournaled in other ways, but under pres ent conditions where high speedsare im parted to the carriages and where timebccomes more valuable it isnecessary to operate the millover relatively long periods without thenecessity of the shutting down of the mill. Under such operatingconditions it is necessary to maintain the log carriage upon arelatively fixed track and; to maintain the track in line for suchoperations. This form f c st u ti n necessi ates the. s ppo t ng of ecarriage p n a l rg n m r of lild ments of any suitable material,

wheels and tomaintain the wheels upon axles that operate in frictionlessbearings.

The frictionless bearings are best maintained in line and in suitableworking conditions where the bearing housings are placed within a onepiece headblock element that may be made in a relatively one piececonstruction and thatmay be machined and bored as a one piece rigidelement that will maintain in line and in true condition over arelatively long operating condition.

Saw mill carriages, especially where used on the larger logs aresubjected to a tremendous amount 01.. pounding and other abuses as thelogs and cants are turned by the power machinery now in use and it ishighly essential that the carriage be assembled and disassembled withthe least amount of delay. In my new and improved carriage I form thesame of a minimum number of rugged parts such as a one piece headblockelement that is made of cast steel or other suitable material and securethe same together by connecting units that may be secured thereto with aminimum amount of time and mechanical effort. The entire carriage is assembled and tested at the point of origin of the same. Where carriageshave been made of fabricated structural shapes the same become weakenedand loose due to the pound ing of the logs as turned and due to thetremendous strain that is placed upon the carriage as the same isshunted in its reciprocating movements past the saw. In my new andimproved carriage the same is made relatively light due to the shape anda minimumnumber of fastenings are used due to the construction that Iemploy. I preferably use taper fastenings where possible that may bereadily and quickly taken up when they become loose and which cannotbecome disconnected and dislodged from use.

I preferably form the sub-supporting eleas a plurality of girders 1,having cross beams 2, arranged in spaced relationship and supported uponthe girder 1. Metallic track elements 3, 4 and 5 are disposed upon thebeams 2, and one of the track elements has a plurality of parallelly'disposed upwardly extending'tracks or guides 6, disposed within thesurface upon which the supporting wheels T, are made to engage. Theset-out device engages one of. the tracks to impart a lateral movementto the carriage when the same is impelled in thereverse direction.

My new and improved frame is made up of a plurality of headblockelements 8, terminating in dovetail guideways9 at the top, and having aplurality of depending truck axle bearings 10 and 11, downwardlyextending therefrom into which roller hearings, or other suitable fritionless bearings are disposed. The truck axles 12 upon which the wheelsare mounted, have relatively long bearing sleeves 13, disposed thereuponupon which the frictionless or roller bearings are made to operate. Theprimary purpose and object of the long sleeves is to permit the offsetmovement of the carriage frame relative to that of the supporting wheelswhich do not have an off-set movement. Felt lubricating retainers areplaced within the grooves 14, of the end sections 15, of the journalbearings for maintaining the grease or other lubricant within thejournal housing.

In preferred embodiment, I adapt two truck axle bearing sections andheadblocks to support four wheels, two on each of the two first tracks,and the third truck axle bearing section and headblock to support fourwheels on the last track, making in all eight wheels supported on threetracks disposed in parallel alignment. The headblocks are securedtogether by a structural cast or forged spreaderframe 16, which issecured to the headblock by any suitable fastening means, as through theuse of taper pins 17, cooperating with the spreader-frame 16, and thelugs 18, disposed upon the headblock structure. A downwardly extendingskirt 19, depends fro-m the spreader frame 16 and is made to travel inslight spaced relationship with the track elements 3, 4, and 5. Disposedupon oppositely disposed ends of my assembled a carriage, one of which1s not shown in the drawings are bumper heads 20. These heads areremovably secured tothe headblocks by pins 17 and lugs 18 and also actto stiffen the total assembly. Each of the heads has downwardlyextending skirts 1 9a the purpose of which is to maintain the trackwayin normally free and clean condition from ref use and other saw millwaste that tends to collect upon track-way. These heads may be made toengage a cushioning stop to terminate the travel of the carriage at theend of each reciprocation and reduce the stop to a minimum shock. Theseskirtsare made to engage just above the track elements 3,

4, and 5, so as to keep the tracks in a relatively clean operatingcondition as the skirts are swept back and forth longitudinally of thetrackway. The feed rope 21, runs longitudinally of the carriage and issecured thereto by any suitable take-up fastening means, as a ropeattaching bracket 27 made integral with and depending centrally from thespreader frame 16. A back rail 22, is secured-to the headblocks by anysuitable fastening means, as by taper pins 23, or by any othersuitablefastening means, the purpose and object of which is to maintainthe headblock elements of the carriage in a proper and suitable workingrelationship with the back rail. An overhang is provided at the rear ofeach headblock element, as illustrated at 24in Fig. 4, and Fig. 1, and aZ bar 25 is connected. to each of the overhanging elements to form aplatform for supporting the set-Wrks. The headblocks, truck bearings,the extension 24 and the Z bars are preferably made integral and of asingle piece, thereby simplifying the construction and a providing amore rigid and long lived construction. A set shaft 26 journaled Withinsuitable bearings on the overhanging elements provides the operatingpower for manipulating the set-works. While the form of mechanism hereinshown and described is admirably adapted to fulfill the objectsprimarily stated, it is to be understood that it is not intended toconfine the invention to the one form of embodiment herein shown anddescribed, as it is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, allcoming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What I claim is 1.. In a device of the class described, the combinationin a log carriage of roller bearing headblocks spaced apart by spreaderframes and reinovably secured thereto by tapered pins and means forattaching the feed rope to the spreader frame.

52. In a log carriage, a spreader frame detachably securable to theheadblocks to form a log carriage chassis comprising a plurality of armsextending from a central hub, said 30 arms having openings at theirterminal ends for permitting attachment of the spreader frame to thehead blocks, a strut connecting two of said arms and forming a skirtadapted to keep refuse from the carriage tracks, and means dependingfrom the hub of the frame for imparting reciprocation to the carriage ineither a forward or backward direction.

CHARLES W. WILLETTE.

